ONO Strengthens Competitive Position

ONO, the Spanish cable operator and one of the main competitors to DTH operator Digital+, completed the purchase of Retecal, the cable operator based in the region of Castilla y Leon; ONO now fully owns Retecal. ONO is a key player in the broadband, telephony and pay-TV market in Spain with a potential market of nearly seven million homes.

ONO acquired 61 percent of Retecal in February 2004 in a share exchange. It purchased the 35-percent piece of the company that was owned by Hidroeléctrica del Cantabrico, and it also acquired the other 4 percent of the company held by such minority shareholders as Endesa, Union Fenosa and Grupo Begar.